Podcast Enterprise: S1E17 Squire of Gothos

Space, the final frontier. These are the podcasts of the Podcast Enterprise. Its only mission: to explore story structures, to analyze our favorite characters and plotlines, to boldly talk what everyone has seen before

We will analyze all episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series or TOS for short using the following guiding structure:

1. Synopsis or summary of the episode
2. Story structure
3. Character analysis
4. Our likes and dislikes

The synopsis:

When this episode opens, the Enterprise is on route to the beta six colony and they have to deliver some supplies there. However, the way between where the Enterprise is and where beta six is a big, huge star desert. It’s a void. There’s nothing there. And approximately, I think it’s about 900 years from Earth and in a place where there shouldn’t be anything, the Enterprise runs into a very peculiar planet and this peculiar planet. It’s not supposed to be there. They know it’s not supposed to be there.

And Kirk, the captain decides not to go there at this time. He decides to go to beta six first and then come back. However, the navigator Sulu is not allowed to. Make those course corrections and he disappears from the bridge. Kirk tries to find out what happens. Kirk also disappears from the bridge forcing Spock to take temporary command of the Enterprise.

And while they’re figuring out what to do, because this planet, they can’t really penetrate it because their sensors have all gone haywire. They get peculiar messages on one screen. Stuff like Tali-ho and hip-hip hurrah and all sorts of weird things on the communication screen. And they also find that there’s a small patch of land on that planet, which is otherwise quite fatal For humans.

They find a small patch of land, which is almost exactly like Earth and Spock decides to teleport some people down there, they find both Sulu and Captain Kirk down there. They’ve been frozen and there’s a peculiar alien in human form, dressed in something like 18th century fashions playing the harpsichord.

And this guy is fascinating because he has recreated the entire room to look like an 18th or 19th century European sitting room. And Kirk and Sulu, they’re brought back to life. They don’t know what to do. Kirk somehow outwits him and destroys a machine that this alien has been using. And the alien who’s an absolute nightmare to deal with, somehow, let’s him go for a few minutes and then he brings them all back to the planet again and eventually, he’s somehow outwitted to the point where everybody gets back to the ship. And then this is where the episode really gets a bit scary because they’re not able to outrun the planet, it seems to be pursuing them.

The alien is after them. He’ll not let them go. And you. We’ll discuss it in detail, but however, what happens basically is that Kirk is supposed to go back and stand the farce of a trial. It’s all very strange. He has to face a trial, the alien wants to kill him. Kirk outwits him, and then it comes to be that this alien is not really an adult.

He’s a child and his parents take him over.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Thank you for listening to the Podcast Enterprise. Please do share your reviews with us and please share this podcast with any of your writing friends or trekkies. Live long and prosper!

Stay tuned in for our next episode! Enjoy!

Acknowledgements

1. Intro music: Music from anchor.fm
2. Shotcut for editing the podcast
3. References: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/